Parish moves ahead on boat launch

Wednesday

Jun 19, 2013 at 10:23 PM

Fishermen may finally get a public boat launch in Leeville almost three years after the Lafourche Parish Council initially set aside money for the project, though not without frustration from supporters and councilmen.

Jacob BatteStaff Writer

Fishermen may finally get a public boat launch in Leeville almost three years after the Lafourche Parish Council initially set aside money for the project, though not without frustration from supporters and councilmen. Parish President Charlotte Randolph said the money is already in place for the $1.5 million project, and the parish has received the necessary permits to get started. Randolph refuses to give a deadline on the project, noting the last time she gave a timeline she was off by more than a year. Cut Off based-Joe Picciola & Associates has served as the engineer on the project, but company officials couldn't be reached to comment on when the bid would go out. The launch will accommodate more than 50 truck/trailer combinations and will also include a kayak launch, Councilman Daniel Lorraine said. The launch will be built just south of the La. 1 toll bridge. Lorraine, in whose district the launch will be built, said it will help the people of Leeville overcome being passed over by the elevated highway. “It would make a big difference to the business owners down there. Some businesses have lost 50 to 60 percent since the bypass went up,” Lorraine said. “It would attract people to (Leeville), and they would go buy things in the area.”The parish is using $350,000 in parish money and receiving $500,000 in federal aid, $500,000 from the state and $300,000 from the Greater Lafourche Port Commission for the launch.“Anywhere you can build a boat launch, I don't care where it's at, it's economic development,” Lorraine said. “All you have to do is stand on the side of the road on the weekend and watch all of these guys pull their boats in. That's money for the parish, big money.”Earlier this month, approval of House Bill 246 by Rep. Truck Gisclair, D-Larose, secured the 74,885 square feet of land for the launch. Lorraine said he is skeptical of the project being completed after Picciola announced it would be going out for bid this spring yet was delayed because of confusion over a permit's status. Janet Rhodus, founder of the nonprofit Launch Leeville that has pushed for the launch, said she is confused as to why the project has taken so long. Though he is unsure why there have been delays in the project, Lorraine said he is sure they are coming from the administration. “I think this administration is very vindictive. If somebody questions their motives they'll delay it as much as they can,” Lorraine said. The council has had other issues to deal with, Councilman Phillip Gouaux said, like protecting its residents from flood damage. “I'm not opposed to a boat launch in Leeville, but we have a lot more pressing problems with trying to protect families and property in this parish,” Gouaux said.Leeville has fallen by the wayside under the current administration with no major improvements to the town since the new toll road bypassed it, Lorraine said. Randolph said the parish spends $2,000 to $3,000 annually maintaining the eight boat launches in the parish, which pales in comparison to $1.5 million being spent on the project.“I think all councilmen would appreciate that much money being spent in their district on a boat launch,” Randolph said. The parish is more accommodating to recreational fisherman than neighboring Terrebonne Parish, which only has five public boat launches, Randolph said. Leeville is not without boat launches. Bobby Lynn's Marina and Boudreaux's Motel own commercial boat launches, though Boudreaux's announced at the last council meeting that its launch will only be available to motel guests starting July 4. After talking with Leeville residents Rhodus speculates Randolph might have been intentionally delaying the project because of her friendship with Bobby Gros, owner of Bobby Lynn's. Gros has spoken out against the boat launch because it would theoretically hurt his business. “I am equally friends with Bobby Gros as I am with (Leeville boat launch supporter) Don Griffin,” Randolph said. “I encourage people to fish Leeville, and if they're not a customer, they should be one.” There was some hesitation with the launch because the parish didn't want to take money away from the local business owners, Randolph said. In response to Rhodus's accusations that she is stalling the project intentionally, Randolph said Rhodus, of Baton Rouge, has a narrow view of what the parish is actually trying to accomplish. “She could care less about the social welfare of the people of Lafourche Parish. She just cares about the Leeville boat launch,” she said. “We're going to build it in spite of Janet, not because of her.” Lorraine said he didn't agree with the parish closing the boat launch in Clovelly last year. “There's no reason why we should have lost the Clovelly boat launch,” Lorraine said. “I'm not going to let what happened there happen to Leeville.”The Clovelly launch was closed to free public use and has since been converted into a paid launch by the landowners.Parish officials said they hoped they could reach a deal with the landowners to keep the longtime launch free to the public.The launch provides quick access to Little Lake. It was open for years through an agreement between the parish and the landowners. Per the agreement, the parish would maintain the farm road on the land, and the landowners would allow free access.That agreement was in place until 2008. Afterward, the launch stayed free through an informal agreement.The launche closed last year after the landowners began adding stipulations to the parish, Randolph said.The parish hired an attorney last year to negotiate the reopening, but those efforts have proved fruitless.

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